I am currently sitting on an extremely comfortable sofa, straddling a nest table upon which rests my laptop. The sunlight is literally beaming like a Cheshire cat through the vast 28 paned arch windows opposite. Panels of light large enough to play hopscotch on rise and fall on the beige carpet. To say I am in my element is an understatement.

Do you live in London? Are you a motivated individual, good at organising a small group of friends/family under pressure? Are you looking for a little light release from the daily grind? Summer still feels a long way away. Have you ever thought you’d like to go to Scotland but can’t because you think it’s too far away?

On my walk to work this week, I noticed a palpable ‘it’s nearly spring’ feeling permeating the air from every hedgerow and tree branch as the birds seemed to sing just that much louder and just that teeny bit livelier than they had since .. well, I can’t remember. Winter this year, for me, was a blur.

Did you know it’s National Book Week this week and BBC4 are running a series of programmes dedicated to the subject. I was glued to the telly last night, a contradiction I know given the topic, keen to understand more about how to encourage boys to read (not that I have any) when I suddenly thought how I could do my bit to promote the topic. So here I am today, with my carrot and coriander soup (its lunchtime) all set to muse over what books make good holiday reads.

There is a popular preconception that renting a castle for a holiday is for the privileged few. Easy mistake to make if you’re not in the industry, given the rental rates can run into the thousands. It’s easy to see why John McCain’s ‘Jo the Plumber’ immediately assumes it’s not an affordable choice for him.

Another year bites the dust and we all return to work resolving to make wholesome changes to our mental, spiritual and physical selves. Well, that would almost be true if we did ALL return to work, however, the sad fact is that three quarters of our team are laid up in bed with the dreaded lurgey.

How many families I wonder are sitting around this Christmas, already plannning their next reunion? As the extended family grows each year, the logistics of where to put everyone can become quite a headache. So why not think about renting a large holiday house and getting together under one roof in comfort and style.

Vicky and I woke to a lovely, crisp and sunny morning and following a hearty breakfast (joint effort!) we drove inland for about 30 minutes, through some lovely country roads, heading towards a small village called Dalry that was to be our first port of call. Also a castle and reputed to be the oldest continually inhabited mansion house in Scotland, this property (ref 802) was going to be the first of the fully catered (or serviced) properties we were due to visit.